successive
small cascades over rocks--therefore no fish was to be found. When we did
find it in the big rivers we had no way to catch it.

It then again follows, concerning the country between great rivers, that
where there is no fish, no game, no fruit, no vegetables, and no possible
way of cultivating the land, there can be no inhabitants. That was why
the great Brazilian forest in that region was uninhabited by human
beings.

It was rather pathetic, looking back on those days, to think of the small
cooking pot I carried during that time of starvation in hopes that we
might find something to cook. Its weight was not great, but it was a
cumbersome thing to carry, as it dangled about and caught in all the
vegetation.

As the days went by and our strength got less and less every hour, I
decided not to cut the forest any more, but to go through without that
extra exertion. As I could not trust my men with the big knife, I had to
carry it myself, as occasionally it had to be used--especially near
streams, where the vegetation was always more or less entangled.

That evening (September 9th) we had halted at sunset--simply dead with
fatigue and exhaustion. The _sauba_ ants had cut nearly all the strings
of Filippe's hammock; while he was resting peacefully on it the remainder
of the strings broke, and he had a bad fall. He was so exhausted that he
remained lying on the ground, swarming all over with ants and moaning the
whole time, having no strength to repair the hammock.

When Filippe eventually fell into a sound slumber I had a curious
experience in the middle of the night. I was sleeping in my improvised
hammock, when I felt two paws resting on my body and something sniffing
in my face. When I opened my eyes I found a jaguar, standing up on its
hind paws, staring me straight in the face. The moment I moved, the
astonished animal, which had evidently never seen a human being before,
leapt away and disappeared.

I find that people have strange ideas about wild animals. It is far from
true that wild beasts are vicious. I have always found them as gentle as
possible. Although I have seen nearly every wild beast that it is
possible for man to see in the world, I have never once been attacked by
them, although on dozens of occasions I have come into close contact with
them. I invariably found all wild animals--except the African
buffalo--quite timid and almost gentle, unless, of course, they have been
worried or wounde